JACK-PARIS 12th-CHATEAU DE VINCENNES AND AFRICAN ART
Jack
Loire, Belgium and Holland posts are visible with pictures on
http://i.am/jack_travel and on http://home.mminternet.com/~nowhere_man
Also my Paris sketches and series about Paris bridges are on
http://i.am/jack_travel
PARIS 12th-CHATEAU DE VINCENNES AND AFRICAN ART
The CHATEAU DE VINCENNES has always been a favourite hunting castle of
the French kings. It is said that Louis XI departed from this chateau
on the Crusades to the Middle East where he died in Tunis. The chateau
extended and became a genuine fortress like the English castles. But
Philippe III (1274) and Philippe IV (1322) married here and Louis X
(1316), Philippe V (1322) and Charles IV (1328) were born here. The
dungeon of the castle had Henri de Navarre (the future Henri IV) as a
guest and also the famous superintendent Fouquet was imprisoned here
is 1662. Until Versailles was built in the 17th century, Vincennes was
the residence of the French kings, especially because of the pure air
of the environment. Other famous prisoners came to lodge here like
Diderot, the marquis de Sade and Mirabeau. In 1840 the chateau became
a military fortress, undergoing severe damages. For more than a
century now, a restoration campaign tries to restore a little bit of
its initial looks. During WWII the chateau was in possession of the
Germans and 30 hostages were murdered on August 20th, year 1944. Four
days later the nazis blew up the old casemates and one of the
pavilions was destroyed by fire. The renovations lasted for dozens of
years. .
Now over to the avenue Daumesnil for the African and Oceanian art
amateurs!
The musee des ARTS D'AFRIQUE ET D'OCEANIE is maybe one of the most
underestimated museums of Paris but I find it a remarkable collection!
Maybe the museum suffers from a bad image. Indeed, his first name was
"Museum of the Colonies" or "musee de la France d'outremer (overseas
France)", that was created to interest the French in the earlier
colonies and show the so-called "virtues" of French.
The building, built for the colonial fair of 1931, is finally
(together with the Palais Chaillot) one of the rare testimonies of the
between the 2 wars architecture. It's here that the first use of
reinforced concrete was made. The façade is fascinating, sculpted on
100 meters. Quite unique in its genre. It is the French minister,
famous writer, Andre Malraux, who fought on the side of the socialists
in the Spanish independence war, that the museum finally turned into a
resolute artistic and aesthetic place.
Inside you will find a tropical aquarium in the basement as an
unavoidable complement for your visit. A great renovation effort puts
it now at international level with, very rare, a collection of
primitive fish, unchanged since 300 million years! You can see them
with outlines of lungs and fins permitting reptation. And it is from
them funny birds that we are supposed to come from !!!! Have also a
look at the curious Malanochromis Auratus, who keeps his eggs in his
mouth to incubate them, and if the fries and breeding young fish are
in danger, he swallows them to protect them and spits them out again!
Wonders of nature .....There is even a crocodile pit.
The collection of African Arts is to find on the first floor with
admirable little statues, seated "Yoruba chief" with an enigmatic
ironic face expression, Ibo from Nigeria, magical statues from Congo
(with nails), superb bronzes, a giant parade pipe from Cameroon,
initiation masks, musical instruments, more wooden sculptures,
statues, masks and ceremonial clothes from the 12th and 13th century
and from Black African and beautifully executed jewels from North
Africa. Take some time to look over the details and the manner of
African Art. Quite astonishing! It's a mixture of conventional style
and abundant exoticism, flamboyant, poetic. But the collections
present the most beautiful pieces of an absolutely extraordinary art..
Fabulous imagination (sometimes very near to abstract art) and finesse
of execution. Didn't Picasso himself, admit that he came very often at
this place to look for inspiration?
The Oceanian arts are sited around the immense festival hall decorated
by frescos and are also a quite surprising discovery. Masks of New
Guinea, in rich materials, engraved bamboos, very nice ornaments and
headdresses and a lot more...
Another hall is especially dedicated to Australia. I leave you the
surprise to see it by yourself. ---
On the second floor the Arts of the Maghreb are displayed.. Here also
you can see superb collections showing the extreme finesse of arts in
northern African countries like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and the
Sahara. Chiselled jewels, filigree-works in silver and gold, enamels
and precious stones, ceramic inkpots, doors and chests in painted
wood. Touareg arms and ornaments, tissues and richly embroidered
clothes (wedding boleros), very ancient scrolls and documents of the
Coran, rifles encrusted with mother of pearl (nacre) and ivory etc...
Bibliography
--Vie et histoire des arrondissements de Paris, ed.Hervas
(1985-1988--Nouvelle Histoire de Paris, ed.Hachette--Le Pieton de
Paris, by L.P.Fargue, ed.Gallimard 1997--Dictionnaire historique des
rues de Paris, by J.Hillairet, ed.Minuit --Guide du Routard 1998-1999
(Ed.Hachette)--Paris, 2000 d'histoire, by J.Favier, ed.Fayard 1997
--Paris 19eme siecle, l'immeuble et la rue, by F.Loyer, ed.Hazan,
1994- Le 12eme et ses secrets, J.Favier( ed.Natah 1996)--Chateaux de
Paris, by J.de la Vence( ed.Minuit 1996)-Musees oublies, (office de
Tourisme de Paris)
Jack
My Paris,daytrips from Paris, Provence, Cote d'Azur, valley of the
Loire, Belgium and Holland posts are open again at
http: http://i.am/jack_travel WITH pictures and at
http://home.mminternet.com/~nowhere_man